3 CONTRACTORS BID FOR WATER STATIONS

Three contractors, including one whose bid was tossed out previously, have bid on the contract for 33 water metering stations in the Du Page Water Commission`s system.

Sixty-three stations are to be built to register the flow of Lake Michigan water so the commission can bill the towns for what they buy.

A contract for the first 30 was awarded Sept. 3 to Joseph J. Henderson & Son Inc. of Gurnee. But the commission was unhappy with the two bids on the remaining 33 stations and rejected them.

Before doing so, it negotiated for a lower price with one of the firms, J.F. Shea Co. Inc., a nationwide contracting firm based in Walnut, Calif. Shea agreed to lower its bid, but not enough to satisfy the commission.

Last week, at the second bid opening for the 33 stations, Shea was the high bidder at $8.2 million, said Robert L. Martin, assistant to the commission`s general manager. He said Marino Midwest Inc. of Wisconsin was the low bidder at $7.2 million, and Henderson submitted a bid of about $7.4 million.

The bids will be reviewed by the engineers and staff.

The commission had hoped that rejecting the earlier bids would stimulate competition.

This time it broke the contract into three sections, allowing firms to compete for all or any on the theory that small contractors who couldn`t handle the whole job would seek part of it.

Commission members also said this tactic might attract local firms instead of the nationwide giants. But there were no small or local firms, nor did anyone bid on just part of the job.

Lake Michigan water is expected to become available to Du Page residents in about 1992.